Andrea Vance reports on the Government’s latest target, the Human Rights Commission, and their plans to remove the teeth from our last watchdog…
Guardians of rights need shielding too
…the independence and autonomy of the HRC are to be slowly chipped away by a bill currently before Parliament.Under the Human Rights Amendment Bill, the position of equal employment opportunities commissioner (currently Jackie Blue) and the race relations commissioner (now Dame Susan Devoy) are to be abolished.
Discrimination against the 1.1 million people of New Zealand who identify as disabled will become part of the HRC’s purview, but as with equal employment and race relations, the new disability rights commissioner will also not be recognised as such.
Is just a quibble over job titles and organisational structure? Actually, it goes much further than that. By failing to formally recognise their roles, the Government weakens their mandate and accessibility. How can they speak with authority in public without a discernible sobriquet?
Also concerned is that the HRC will be expected to run its work programme past the Minister of Justice. It is vital the HRC remain independent – not least because one of its most important roles is reporting on Government legislation.
…Key threatened the HRC with funding cut backs when they challenged the human rights breaches of his 2013 GCSB legislation and he’s now doing that. Unfortunately many National voters despise women’s rights, Maori rights and beneficiary rights so will cheer Key blunting the Human Rights Commission, they see it as politically correct nonsense anyway and don’t understand that the HRC is one of the few agencies that can force the Government to respect NZers civil rights.
It was only the HRC that was able to pull Paula Bennett back into line after she released private information about beneficiaries who’d had the temerity to criticise her, and without the HRC intervening, Bennett would still be terrorising beneficiaries with the same tactics.
It’s difficult to accept Key’s comments on Freedom of Speech in regards to the tragedy in Paris…
…when his Government have overseen some of the most perverse strangulations of transparency and public interest media standards since the 1950s.
Besides killing off public broadcasting funding, Key had police raid newspapers and broadcasters to stop them from publishing the tea-pot tapes. Investigative Journalist Jon Stephenson was defamed, investigative Journalist Nicky Hager was defamed AND raided, award winning Journalist Glenn Greenwald and whistleblowers Julian Assange and Edward Snowden were called ‘henchmen’, Andrea Vance had all her emails and phone records taken when Key’s Government hunted the leak of whistleblower reports and throughout all this, Key’s office was active in a dirty smears campaign via modern day fascist Cameron Slater.
This is the corrupt and power abusing government that NZers re-elected.
God defend NZ, because bloody NZers certainly won’t.
This has been happening over a number of years. Includes both National and Labour coalitions who started it back in the early 2000’s
Doug Hay
DLANZ Disabled
” This is the corrupt and power abusing government that NZers re-elected.
God defend NZ, because bloody NZers certainly won’t.”
Firstly , the election was rigged so who knows who voted for who .
Secondly , SOME New Zealanders wouldn’t defend shit .
Moving on .
So then market that ? Why the fuck doesn’t The Daily Blog market itself ?
Get the message out there for fucks sake !
I was in a bloody pie shop today . The woman behind the counter was lamenting at her country being run by the pack of greedy scum fucks we know and loath . She seemed a normal female human . She certainly wasn’t stupid or didn’t give a shit . She was genuinely deeply worried about the ramifications of the rumours she’d been hearing from others and all that via the MSM . She genuinely had no information to draw from . I know , I talked to her about it .
Then I scribbled down the Daily Blog’s web address on an old receipt .
As I was traveling south yesterday I talked to a young guy in a cafe in a small town just south of Christchurch . He was truly fearful of the new drug testing laws coming out ( Are out ?? ) He likes a smoke and he should be worried .
I wrote The Daily Blog’s address down for him also .
Get-yourselves – out – there !
T shirts , bumper stickers , ads on Student Radio , flyers , posters , graffiti , sausage sizzles , what the fuck ever !
Here’s an idea ! Ask Banksy to design a TDB logo . He/ she / They / It resonates with TDB . Cut from the same cloth , you are .
People aren’t stupid or evil . They just go with who ever has the brightest bling on the day . So Bling yourselves Bigger than the Hate Blogger slater . Spark that fuck up like he’s made of rice paper ! See , even I can do a thing .
Print funky TDB business cards . Print off sick posters ( As you young people might say ) and stickers . How about a ‘ Vice ‘ like Youtube channel and take the uncomfortable questions to the Scum ? You have a huge resource out there that’d happily iPhone fat collins’ arse lumbering along . Wide angle ap ?
You’ve already got Hager , Dotcom , Assange , Snowden and Greenwald ! What amazing assets ! Don’t waste that .
And don’t fucking say New Zealanders won’t defend themselves . You know ! If you say things like that often enough people will believe it .
SOME New Zealanders might not give a shit but most do .
They would be hugely defensive if they new where to start . The Daily Blog IS the new media . You guys started this show so now you have a responsibility to pave the way for a new revolution .
Totally right. Joe public do care – they are just reliant on MSM which constantly tells them ‘no Kiwi cares about politics’.
More advertising is needed not just by this site but other so called ‘left’ sites so that joe public actually gets a different point of view. I used to read MSM but after the election which was so biased and unethical in the MSM that I now read these type of blog sites for NZ issues and the Guardian and Salon to actually get my world news. I occasionally look at the herald to see what ‘joe public’ is being fed. The point is, left sites are all from ‘word or mouth’ if you live in some small town working at the pie shop, how do you know that the MSM is just in some sort of alternate reality in NZ and you are not actually getting real news? Where do you find out about ‘thedailyblog”?
Labour and to a point the Greens don’t really connect with those people and know what they are thinking. I’m from Auckland and not the town meeting type, never got anything from any of the left parties apart from personal letters from National and one from Act in the run up to the election saying what an amazing job (National/Act) were doing.
If left news blogs and political parties did reach those people they would know that Kiwis are very worried about NZ and the state of the world. If they connect with that person, then that person will talk about it to their family friend’s others etc.
With the age of the Internet there is no excuse not to use websites to actually connect with NZ’ers and hear what they have to say – I get the impression they Labour/Greens MP’s do not actually use their websites at all and some faceless volunteers mans it.
Saying that, maybe there is some change as I did get a pleasant email from Grant Robertson about a new online campaign and Xmas email from Andrew Little but you did have to sign up and again gave the impression that some faceless volunteer will be collating the info.I don’t even know how they got my email as I seldom give it out in political contexts. I do get emails from the Greens but not lately. With the terrible IT security political parties have in NZ not sure I want to be on some party ‘list’.
More interested in being able to post direct on their party website or have a daily transparant open forum. Yes might get overrun with spam and trolls but blogs and newspapers seem to manage it. at least you can try and see what the lie of the land is. However will the actual MP’s even read it? Internet is a two way street, people have to actually feel it will make a difference to bother to post and the recipient needs to run a transparent site.
The undermining of institutions and instruments of state designed to support and strengthen those without a voice has become a hallmark of this National Party-led government. That John Key has previously had run-in’s with them when they’ve admirably performed their role just shows how much disdain he has for the rights of others.
His statement that journalists have an important role to play in a fair and just society rings hollow when you consider his recent history with the fourth estate as Martyn outlines.
If you’re not rich, white and one of John Key’s mate’s you don’t deserve rights according to National. The sooner this country rids itself of him and his cronies the better.
“His statement that journalists have an important role to play in a fair and just society rings hollow when you consider his recent history with the fourth estate as Martyn outlines.”
Oh, but they do – They are needed to tell us how Key’s cat Moonbeam is doing, how we are more concerned about snapper quotas than pesky legislation, and to condemn David Cunliffe’s scarves.
You will have to wait a little under three years for that though…
Lets not give to much credibility with decision making to Brand Key, if anything the term sock puppet comes to mind. This is policy from the middle class Tories in National whose seats in Parliamentary chambers will soon need to widened.
Yes Martyn,
Daily blog as Country boy said needs to be elevated and his suggestions are great, can you start a campaign to raise some funding for marketing TDB and/or find some time slots on our Channel 83 or others for weekly political debates among the great investigative journalists just needing some exposure after years of suppression under this Government.
Can you team up with Campaign for Better Broadcasting?
You did well on the lunch café debates so you can widen this format with Tele conferences with some global political heavy weights we often see on RT channel 92 Max Kaiser and the like.
Have you considered appearing on his show we are sure they would jump at having you on their show?
I called for all opposition MPs to place a court hearing on our public media and our rights to access of TVNZ and RNZ, which has yet to be challenged.
We need free speech not suppression.
“Also concerned is that the HRC will be expected to run its work programme past the Minister of Justice.”
Wait, what?! The Minister of Justice should be answering to the HRC, not the other way around.
The Minister of “Justice” (1984, much?) should be imprisoned for many, many years for the human rights abuses committed by their branch of government.
Fact.
Stating something is a fact when it is merely an opinion doesn’t make your opinion any more valid.
Doesn’t make it any less valid, either.
And ignoring the substance of a comment to quibble over a single sentence is what exactly?
Are you saying your comprehension skills are so poor you dont understand the gist of the comment?
If you had a point other than sad little distractions you would make it – the fact you cant or wont doesnt make your repetitive, anal and predictable comments worthy of anything but contempt and ridicule
your a time waster and shit stirrer – something you have publicly admitted to already
The substance of the comment is nonsense. If there was any validity in it then the Opposition parties in Parliament should be hammering the Government every day over the allegations and sending press releases to any media that would listen.
The facts (not opinion) of the matter is that not one Opposition MP has even raised a question in relation to the current Minister of Justice apparently breaching our human rights.
There is only a few conclusions that can be made from this. Two of them is that the Opposition is either in cahoots with the current government or incompetent. Another is that these is no human rights being breached at all.
So why didnt you start with this then? Why play your usual stupid game?
and frankly – its still bullshit – your trying to claim that someones argument only has validity or basis in fact if the opposition decide to focus on the same thing?!
On what planet is that the measure of worthiness?
then the rest of your comment is based on your opening idiocy being accepted – when its really not up to scratch to start with.
Its like your running the hurdles and just knocked them all over yet still claiming a win
jesus – whos running the gossamer handle these days?
Yes, typical, here we go, it had to happen, as the HRC “dared” to criticise the government in too many cases.
The HRC has already been under-resourced and rather weak and useless as they were and are. Now this, I cannot believe the audacity of this rotten lot at the helm.
But as most people out there do not really give a damn about all too much these days, apart from cheap petrol to fill their tanks, and the cops getting a lecture on their holiday road campaign, few will raise their voices, only the ones that usually do, and Select Committee will have a government majority, and wave this bill through.
Under Kim Jong Key people’s freedoms are limited to endless hours of work “entitlement”, options to take less holiday, “flexibility” to not bother taking their tea break (as the boss expects it to be), and a “generous” prospect of the abolition of the last restrictions on 24/7 shopping, so that shops can open to ease you off the burden of your pay packets on 365 days a year.
The sun is shining 24/7 on the head of our glorious leader, Teflon is his skin, his words are like arrows and swords cutting out all “evil” criticism and scrutiny, and on Planet Key all is well, a new year of his firm leadership and rule to start in a few days, as he descends from his plane after a well deserved “holiday” in Hawaii (with Barack and Friends).
I care a whole lot but feel stifled by the over zealous regime that is the Key government. If he does that to Nicky Hager who I would much rather talk to than Jonkey anyway, then it does give the impression that there is no hope for truth and fairness to ever see the light of day. But I won’t give up on good people winning over these guys one day!
This corrupt, lowly weasel will be looking for any avenue to reign in and control the HRC, not just because of the reasons stated here, but because of looming decisions in regards to disputes property rights in the Christchurch region. The HRC heavily criticized the Key government over their abuse of the CERA legislation, and the decisions made towards property owners caught up in the Red Zoning, especially those that were uninsured, commercial, and those with bare land. The HRC were vocal on their treatment of being offered a fraction of their properties value in 2013, and Key took a serious dislike for being exposed for his poor decisions on this matter, making veiled treats to undermine it’s funding. A Supreme Court decision will be made soon in regards to these people’s properties and the government’s handling of the matter. You can guarantee Key will be looking for all avenues to muzzle any opposing voices who will be supporting this decision if it goes the respective property owners way. The HRC will be top of this villain’s hit list.
Last year Key cut the Problem Gambling Foundation out of the picture not long after the sordid dodgy bent murky SkyCity convention centre deal was cut. They were highly critical of more gambling but more than any other reason I reckon, logically and cooly from a business perspective, it was SkyCity not happy that all those extra pokies and gaming tables would be less productive if the government was going to discourage people from gambling. And that is why dodgy piss up hidden deals like this must never ever be allowed.
Why is it that there is only about 8 regulars who comment on blogs here. Hardly populist is it.
Yes Gosman I agree with this when you said’
“The substance of the comment is nonsense.
If there was any validity in it then the Opposition parties in Parliament should be hammering the Government every day over the allegations and sending press releases to any media that would listen.”
God knows all of us have tried but this Government and MSM don’t want a bar of any discussion on this issue or any other that conflicts with their private agenda to roll back our advocacy agencies and impose control by direct Government intervention.
Such as the HRC having to be censured by the Minister of Justice firstly removing the independence of HRC.
Scary times for us all ahead here.
If you have any influence to get the subject elevated in the MSM please do get the allegations and sending press releases to any media that would listen as you suggest correctly.
We are now all watching our power of
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